Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2015
Last exams 2025
Outline what is meant by the term biome.
Insolation is the amount of solar radiation received by given area of land in a given time period. It is one of the main factors governing the distribution of biomes.
State the other two.
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List the five major classes that all biomes can be grouped into.
State two biomes that fall within the 'forest' class of biomes.
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Define zonation in the context of ecological systems.
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Complete the following sentence:
Global atmospheric circulation can be described as a worldwide system of winds moving solar heat energy from the __________ to the __________ to reach a balance in temperature.
Complete the following sentence:
Air always moves from areas of __________ pressure to areas of __________ pressure and this movement of air generates wind.
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The figure below shows how the dominant vegetation and crop production changes with altitude in the Andes mountain range in South America.
i)
The changes in dominant vegetation shows a distinct pattern. State the ecological term used to describe this pattern.
[1]
ii)
Outline how global warming might affect the pattern of natural vegetation shown above.
[1]
Using the figure in part (a), discuss how rising temperatures caused by global warming may affect the food production systems of Andean communities living at an altitude of around 2 500 m.
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Distinguish between the following two biomes: tundra and tropical rainforest.
Explain how the atmospheric system influences the distribution of biomes.
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Outline how species diversity increases towards the later stages of succession.
Describe the processes involved in the formation of fertile soils from bare rock.
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Complete the table below by writing either 'low' or 'high' in each of the empty boxes.
Feature | r-strategist species | K-strategist species |
Reproductive rate |
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Growth rate |
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Investment in offspring (parental care) |
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Survival rate |
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Level of specialisation |
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Discuss the factors contributing to the low resilience of coniferous forest monocultures.
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The biomass, biodiversity and productivity of an ecosystem change as the ecosystem undergoes succession.
Explain how.
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To what extent is the resilience of different biomes influenced by their levels of primary productivity?
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